<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>In the Loop by Haganeko (dainpdf)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26096728">In the Loop</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dainpdf/pseuds/Haganeko'>Haganeko (dainpdf)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Mother of Learning - nobody103</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:02:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,679</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26096728</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dainpdf/pseuds/Haganeko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Caelum Lestrange is quite happy with his collaboration with Master Snape... but why does the week keep repeating?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Crossworks 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In the Loop</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elsin/gifts">Elsin</a>.</li>


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/92354">The Pureblood Pretense</a> by murkybluematter.
        </li>

    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Caelum Lestrange woke with a start and peered through the train window. Hogsmeade could just be seen over the gently sloping hills, a small nook of civilization amidst the Scottish countryside. Almost to Hogwarts, with time to spare. He wasn’t excited, per se—that would be beneath his dignity—but it would be worth it for the level of advanced work he could do with Master Snape. <em> Wait until Potter hears of this. </em> While she wasted time in that far-off American school of hers, Caelum would steal a march on her and collaborate with Master Snape—not that he needed to, of course, but it was nice to get some proper recognition.</p><p>He disembarked at the station, shrunk luggage in his pockets. Ahead, the castle broke into the sky, blocking the morning light. Tall stone towers loomed over the landscape, casting long shadows onto the grounds. Such a different sight from Durmstrang, with its utilitarian landscaping—the purest scions of magical Europe had no time for frivolities in their education.</p><p>A horseless carriage drove him to the gates. To his right, the dark waters of the lake were still, reflecting the muted yellows, reds, and browns of various trees, the soft green of rolling hills, and the bright blue of the sky. The shade under the trees seemed perfect for a slow afternoon immersed in books and rest.</p><p>The immense wooden gates opened, revealing a tall figure dressed in billowing black robes. Master Snape acknowledged Caelum with a nod. “Mr. Lestrange, I presume?” He did not wait for Caelum to acquiesce, turning instead to walk through the great domed hall. “Your quarters will be in the first level of the dungeons. Once you have settled yourself in, meet me in an hour at my office. Ask the portraits for help if you have difficulty finding it.”</p><p>
  <b>* * *</b>
</p><p>The dungeons of Hogwarts were chilly and damp. Not the best environment for brewing, but Caelum assumed Master Snape kept his laboratories, storage, and stations under perfect climate control spells. Merlin knew the man had to deal with subpar students; keeping anything but the most impeccable maintenance of the facilities would be downright hazardous.</p><p>He found Master’s Snape’s quarters quite easily, after spending an hour or so to familiarize himself with the layout of the dungeons. He’d met a few students—thankfully, mostly Slytherins—but had refrained from speaking to them. He was here to work, not to mingle.</p><p>Master Snape’s room was, indeed, well cared-for. Not as nice as Caelum’s brewing room in Lestrange Manor, but few places were. <em> Perhaps his personal laboratories are better </em>, Caelum reminded himself. Students didn’t really need state-of-the-art stations, unless they were like Caelum himself or even Potter.</p><p>“Mr. Lestrange. You are on time.” Master Snape’s tone was curt. He did not rise from his chair, busy as he was with some papers. From the amount of red ink, likely grading essays. “Brew a cauldron of Confusion Concoction.”</p><p>Caelum grit his teeth and prepared to brew the basic potion. He thought he recalled the recipe, and it wouldn’t do to disappoint Master Snape so soon in their collaboration. Master Snape would soon see he merited an actual greeting. He rose to collect the ingredients.</p><p>Back at his station, Caelum pressed the lovage leaves carefully and cut them precisely parallel to the veins, so as to waste as little of their juice as possible. The sneezewort’s blossoms he separated from the stems, so as to add them separately, and the scurvy grass he soaked in water for a brief moment before chopping, to preserve their inflammatory properties as best as possible.</p><p>They worked silently for two hours; by the time Caelum was done, a prodigious stack of graded papers lay on Master Snape’s desk. Caelum almost pitied the poor things, since the professor had veritably slathered the papers in red. Caelum bottled a sample of his potion, cleaned his station, and presented it to the Master. He looked at him, awaiting the evaluation of his work.</p><p>Master Snape looked at it, swishing the flask and angling it in the light. “Adequate,” he said. “Meet me here tomorrow at the same time.” He wrote something on a piece of parchment, which he handed Caelum. It read: 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi, pp. 102-105, 303-310; Field Guide to Herbal Specimens of Great Britain, chapters 3 and 5.</p><p>“Thank you, Master Snape.” It was all Caelum could do to walk out politely. He had brewed a perfect vial of the Concoction—as he should, since it was a third-year potion at best. Maybe it was just Master Snape way of offering praise. The man was famously taciturn, after all. But then why had he directed Caelum to basic Herbology books?</p><p>
  <strong>* * *</strong>
</p><p>Caelum had turned a few heads in the corridors with his robes lacking House colours, but the Library was mercifully vacant this early in the year. He walked to the Herbology section at a quick pace. What could those books contain that Master Snape so wished him to see?</p><p>Three hours of reading did not provide the answer. Caelum read about the properties of all three ingredients, their methods of obtention, cultivation, and preparation. Scurvy grass was ripening around this time of year, its seeds ready for planting; it was resistant to frost and preferred coastal and mountainous climates. Lovage leaves produced a smell similar to that of celery when crushed. It ripened in autumn, and its roots were used in various potions dealing with sight, including Night-Vision Potions. Sneezewort matured in spring and preferred dry soils. It was poisonous to cattle.</p><p>None of this illuminated Caelum, who was forced to admit defeat and head to lunch. He sat with Slytherin House, but did not mingle. No sense in wasting time with idle chatter. None of their talk of Quidditch and Society interested him, either way.</p><p>A quick lunch later, he was back at the library. Field Guide to Herbal Specimens of Great Britain was less direct than 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi; chapter three meandered about habitats of various plants, instead of focusing on specific herbs, while five went over tools commonly used for extraction and their common uses. Caelum decided the material was too dry for intent reading and skimmed both chapters for information pertaining specifically to the plants he needed.</p><p>It proved to be of no help. Caelum showed up to a late dinner and found the table abuzz; apparently Arcturus Rigel Black had skipped lunch and dinner, and the Malfoy and Parkinson heirs had wandered off to search for him. No skin off Caelum’s back, of course.</p><p>
  <b>***</b>
</p><p>To Caelum’s great consternation, his next meeting with Master Snape went much like the first: he was once again instructed to brew a Confusing Concoction and assigned sections on herbs and stirring.</p><p>Even as he became increasingly aware of the most minute details of the blasted potion, Caelum’s studies seemed stuck. Master Snape did not budge an inch the entire week; so far, all of Caelum’s work was “passable”, but no mention of more advanced work was made.</p><p>So it was a fuming Caelum who greeted dinner on Saturday. By then, he had likely read more material about lovage than most OWL Herbology students read about any single plant. Even the warm stuffed tomatoes could not lift the clouds over his mood.</p><p>Then came the announcement. The headmaster had suddenly gotten up and, with what must have been a silent <em> Sonorus, </em> spoke over what remained of the din of the hall: “Dinner is most unfortunately canceled. Prefects, please lead your Houses to their Common Rooms. Professors, with me.” There was no mistaking the grim set of his face.</p><p>But what was Caelum to do? Should he go to his own accommodations? Assist the teachers? Take refuge with Slytherin House?</p><p>Choice was taken from him as the Great Hall exploded in a shower of debris and the great figure of a giant erupted into the castle. He barely fit in the room, the tip of the great club in his hand scratching at the beautiful starred ceiling. <em> Reaching for the stars </em>, Caelum’s useless brain supplied, even as he was yanked out of the way of the giant’s blow.</p><p>“Pull yourself together, Lestrange!” came a familiar voice next to him. <em> Harry? No, Black. </em></p><p>Caelum backed away. He watched as Black fired spell after spell at the giant. He was about to scream that those wouldn’t do anything to a giant when the great brute fell over, stunned or dead. Caelum stood agape for a moment, before the arrival of more creatures, as well as a variety of curses, through the gap made him resume retreating.</p><p>He made his way through a blur of people and hallways, gruesome scenes lit up by curselight. More than once he passed by panicked students, a few of whom looked to him for aid. Eventually, he found his way to the dungeons, where he had a moment of peace.</p><p>It didn’t last long. The sound of dueling preceded the figure of Rigel Black, immersed in a duel against a handsome, oddly familiar boy in antiquated robes. Spells flew at dizzying speed, damaging upholstery and  singing the walls.</p><p>And then, a flash of sickly green. Black attempted to dodge, but collided with Caelum. The last thing he heard before all went dark as a high, cruel laugh.</p><p>
  <strong>***</strong>
</p><p>Caelum Lestrange woke with a start and peered through the train window. Hogsmeade could just be seen over the gently sloping hills, a small nook of civilization amidst the Scottish countryside. Almost to Hogwarts, with time to spare. He wasn’t excited, per se—that would be beneath his dignity—but it would be worth it for the level of advanced work he could do with Master Snape. <em> Deja vu. </em> He blinked, trying to dispel the confusing nightmare from his mind.</p><p>The Hogwarts grounds were eerily similar to how they had been in his dream, and Caelum found himself casting disturbed looks around as he made his way through them—perhaps he’d seen a picture of them somewhere?</p><p>Master Snape awaited him behind the ancient oaken gates. “Mr. Lestrange, I presume?” Caelum blinked, but followed as Master Snape led him to a familiar room in the first floor of the dungeons.</p><p>It was a dazed Caelum who arrived at Master Snape’s office following a strangely familiar route. He proceeded to brew a Confusing Concoction with practiced ease, slicing the lovage leaves in the slightly slanted fashion he had found to be best, dissecting the sneezewort blossoms to remove the pistils while preserving stamens intact, and letting the scurvy grass rest in chill water for a few minutes until they achieved the precisely correct coloration.</p><p>He presented his results to the Master and was almost surprised when he was assigned reading, not on the Confusing Concoction, but on the ingredients of the Babbling Beverage. This gave him some hope. Perhaps he wouldn’t be so pressed as in his dream.</p><p>
  <b>***</b>
</p><p>Such hopes were dashed against the rocks when Caelum found himself reading—once more?—on the same potion day after day. He completed such work with a rising sense of tension. Surely he had nothing to worry about? And yet, as Saturday approached, Caelum could feel his nerves at the surface of his skin.</p><p>Caelum was still surprised when the castle wall burst, revealing the giant. Still, he reacted more quickly this time—and good thing, too, because Black was nowhere to be found. He retreated to the upper floors, hoping to not get caught in the lethal duel, should it happen.</p><p>There was a burst of pain—a spell from the back?—and everything went dark.</p><p>
  <b>***</b>
</p><p>Caelum Lestrange woke with a start. He looked around the train, then peered through the window to the fast-approaching speck of Hogsmeade, He swore.</p><p><em> Think, Caelum. </em> Who could he tell? There must be some authority he could notify. But who would believe him? He had no proof, no evidence beyond his own memory. His mind’s eye turned to a single figure, fighting a giant with surprising ease. Almost like he’d known what was coming. Like he’d been preparing.</p><p><em> Surely not. </em> But how else to explain a teenager fighting off a giant on his own?</p><p>When Caelum met Master Snape at the castle gate, there was one question in his mind: “Master Snape… do you know where I could find Arcturus Black?”</p><p>Thankfully, he knew the dungeons well enough, so he had time for a diversion.</p><p>
  <b>***</b>
</p><p>Rigel Black was, as Master Snape had predicted, in his personal laboratory. Caelum had to admit his dedication was worthy of respect, but that did not sway him. There was some mysterious force at work here, and the Black scion seemed to be at the center of it.</p><p>Caelum stopped to knock. Urgency or not, he was properly educated and knew his manners—plus, the room was sure to be warded against entry.</p><p>Rigel Black had his wand at Caelum’s chest before he could react. “Lestrange!?” His face, which in previous meetings had been irritatingly blank, betrayed utter surprise. “How are you— What—?”</p><p>“We have much to discuss, Mr. Black. If that’s who you really are.” <em> Is he going to move his bloody wand? </em></p><p>Rigel Black seemed to consider this for a moment. “I suppose we do. But not here. You have a meeting with Professor Snape, right? I will meet you once you are done.” </p><p>
  <b>***</b>
</p><p>Caelum could hardly concentrate during his first meeting with Master Snape. The Master had interrupted his brewing of the Confusing Concoction and asked him for a Babbling Beverage instead. At the end of their meeting, Caelum had almost forgotten to take the parchment instructing him to research the Wideye Potion.</p><p>Rigel Black awaited him in the corridor. “Shall we go? It’s on the seventh floor, however… can you handle it?” There was a familiar teasing expression in his face.</p><p>“I will have you know I am in good shape. Aren’t you, who’s so short, the one who should be concerned?”</p><p>“Well, don’t hesitate to ask for a pause… Harry has told me how dainty you can be.”</p><p>
  <b>***</b>
</p><p>“See? I told you I could manage it.” Caelum controlled his breathing. How could Black maintain such a pace all the way up the stairs? If anything, going by his superior gaze, he’d held back… yet he’d arrived first and opened the room by the time Caelum reached him.</p><p>“Sure you could.”</p><p>Caelum opted to just head into the room. It was a small, well-furnished reading room, with tasteful bookshelves lining its back end. On the side, a large hourglass dominated the wall, counting down some great interval.</p><p>“I’ll get to it, Black: why is the week repeating itself? What do you have to do with it?”</p><p>“Right to the point, Lestrange? I can’t quite answer your first question, but I know it has to do with the attack at the end of the week. Some way for the school to protect itself, maybe? But I have a question of my own: how long have <em> you </em> been in the loop?” He asked, sidestepping Caelum’s second question.</p><p>“This is the third time. So what about it? Have you attempted informing the Professors? The Ministry?”</p><p>“I have. But who would believe me? In the end, all it did was hasten the attack.” Black got up. “I have been preparing for some weeks now. Will you help me, Lestrange?” His eyes had that infuriating glint to them.</p><p>Caelum felt the heat rise in him and opened his mouth to refuse. Then he remembered that scene: the lone boy, facing off against a giant to protect him. There was no choice, was there? "Fine. I will deign to guide you out of this mess."</p><p>Black smiled knowingly, and Caelum almost regretted it. <em>At least no one is here to see.</em> Approaching the back of the room, Black pulled a book from the shelf, revealing a much larger room, filled with plans. “This room never resets,” he explained. “Though anything I bring into it does disappear. Now, let me bring you up to speed...”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>